Method and system for facilitating auditing of power generation and allocation thereof to consumption loads

ABSTRACT

Method and system for facilitating auditing of power generation and allocation thereof to consumption loads, and a method and system of certifying generation and consumption transactional pairings over a contiguous power grid network. The method of facilitating auditing of power generation and allocation thereof to consumption loads comprises measuring respective power generation time series for one or more power sources connected to a power grid; pairing the generation time series with one or more consumption loads connected to the power grid such that one generation time series is paired with one or more consumption loads and vice versa; and publishing publication data representing power generated by the power sources according to the measured power generation time series and an allocation of the generated power to the consumption loads.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates broadly to a method and system forfacilitating auditing of power generation and allocation thereof toconsumption loads and to a method and system of certifying generationand consumption transactional pairings over a contiguous power gridnetwork.

BACKGROUND

To date, renewable energy certification has been done primarily on paperor solely through the observation of generation yield (eg. Carboncredits, or renewable energy certificates abbreviated herein as“REC's”). For example, a guarantee of the origin of energy generatedfrom a renewable energy generator may be created upon generation of therenewable energy recording the total renewable energy yield, and thisguarantee of origin can be on-sold to buyers in a financial market, orover the counter. Such a generation yield may be combined with variousother generation sources to serve a consumer load. In such acircumstance an auditor is often required to account for the energycertificates or guarantees, as the case may be, to safeguard the tradeof these certificates.

Such a certification may be suitable where the market for trade of suchsystems is liquid and functional. However, this certification leads toreduced transparency of transactions where regions do not have standardsestablished for trade of such guarantees of origin or renewablecertificates. This certification as well requires that an auditor beappointed to verify and check the specific information associated withthe generator, the information of the certificate or guarantee oforigin, the metering scheme used for measuring the energy yield from thegenerator, and other technical matters associated with the generation.Moreover, this certification today does not accommodate for the analysisof actual consumption as coupled to generation on a contiguous powergrid network which establish the supply and demand characteristics of anenergy market. Moreover, more frequently today, energy consumers wish tomake statements in respect of the relative renewable energy consumed,for example, claiming and/or certifying that they consume 50% or 100%renewable energy in respect of their energy use through renewable energygenerators.

In addition to the above problems, the actual yield of an intermittentresource cannot be predicted at any time, and as well the actual use ofenergy of a specific load is unpredictable, wherein the load mayultimately be utilizing a certificate or guarantee of origin to make astatement on the contribution of clean energy to its usage. As such,establishing the trade of energy from intermittent renewable resourcesto date still lacks transparency, and requires multiple parties to auditthe trade of these certificates even where market standards for thetrade of renewable certificates exist. This is often done on the basisthat generation credits are simply bought and added up retrospectivelyto equate to a historically observed nominal consumption.

Furthermore, sometimes the renewable, or intermittent, generators arealso combined with various conventional energy sources and it is hard tocharacterize an actual blend of energy sources associated with theelectrical consumption load.

Embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a method and systemfor facilitating auditing of power generation and allocation thereof toconsumption loads and a method and system of certifying generation andconsumption transactional pairings over a contiguous power grid networkthat seek to address one or more of the above problems.

SUMMARY

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of facilitating auditing of power generation andallocation thereof to consumption loads, comprising measuring respectivepower generation time series for one or more power sources connected toa power grid; pairing the generation time series with one or moreconsumption loads connected to the power grid such that one generationtime series is paired with one or more consumption loads and vice versa;and publishing publication data representing power generated by thepower sources according to the measured power generation time series andan allocation of the generated power to the consumption loads.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of certifying generation and consumption transactionalpairings over a contiguous power grid network, comprising measuring timeseries data from a plurality of generation meters and consumption metersinto a database in real time; processing the measured time series datathrough an algorithm to derive a result in association with a set ofmeter pairings between the generation meters and the consumption meters;and publishing the derived result in real time, at selected times or atselected time intervals.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there isprovided a system for facilitating auditing of power generation andallocation thereof to consumption loads, comprising one or more metersfor measuring respective power generation time series for one or morepower sources connected to a power grid; a processor for pairing thegeneration time series with one or more consumption loads connected tothe power grid such that one generation time series is paired with oneor more consumption loads and vice versa; and a publication platform forpublishing publication data representing power generated by the powersources according to the measured power generation time series and anallocation of the generated power to the consumption loads.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention there isprovided a system for certifying generation and consumptiontransactional pairings over a contiguous power grid network, comprisinga database; a plurality of generation meters and consumption metersconfigured for measuring time series data into the database in realtime; a processor for processing the measured time series data throughan algorithm to derive a result in association with a set of meterpairings between the generation meters and the consumption meters; and apublishing platform for publishing the derived result in real time, atselected times or at selected time intervals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be better understood and readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the following writtendescription, by way of example only, and in conjunction with thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing illustrating architectures of energymeters of generators and consumers associated with an informationtechnology system comprising user settings, and a database that ispopulated and processed in real time leading to publication ofinformation derived from the readings, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a system of pairinggeneration and consumption readings for establishing an output,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a procedure, process, ormethod from which meter allocation pairings are established to be storedfor a database, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a database structure forthe paired identifications among electrical generators, electricalloads, and resulting allocation pairings of the meters, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a number of generation andconsumption allocation pairings wherein (a) is a pairing of meteridentifications of one generator to many consumers, (b) is a one to onepairing of meter identifications, and (c) is a pairing of meteridentifications of many generators to one consumer, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic drawing illustrating the real time flow ofinformation both from generation meters and consumer meters as well asassociated anonymous identifications of associated meters, wherein theinformation from said meters flows through a filtering system preparedby information obtained from user inputs and/or system defined and isultimately published in a processed state, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a system for obtaininguser information where various meaningful user settings are configuredas associated with energy flow information measured on energy generationor load meters, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a system for auditingwherein associated information settings are established as a standardand, assuming no user settings are set as “on”, a standard procedure ofrandomizing and optionally hashing generation meter and load meterpairings results in the publication of a unitized audit or certificate,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a system for auditingenergy transactions wherein associated information settings areestablished as a standard, and in addition, to a standard procedure ofhashing and randomizing anonymous generation meter and load meterpairings, resulting in the publication of a unitary audit orcertificate. Subsets of information of the databases are published suchthat additional information is presented based on user settings forself-publication, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a specific implementationexample for hiding a customer's clean energy consumption profile bysplitting the allocation time series into multiple time series such thatthe aggregate of the generated multiple time series is equal to theoriginal allocation time series being disguised, according to an exampleembodiment, which is useful e.g. to hide customers that are receiving amuch larger amount of clean energy than most customers.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic drawing illustrating another specificimplementation for hiding a customer's clean energy consumption profileby applying a Paillier Cryptosystem to encrypt the allocation timeseries. The encryption has a unique feature of supporting homomorphicaddition while encrypted. Sensitive clean energy consumption can thenremain encrypted and only the sum can be decrypted for auditingpurposes, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic illustration of a vector self-publicationaudit wherein users have enabled publication of the position of theirenergy meters among meter pairings, yet hidden their nominal energymeter readings data.

FIG. 13 shows a flow chart illustrating a method of facilitatingauditing of power generation and allocation thereof to consumptionloads, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart 1400 illustrating a method of certifyinggeneration and consumption transactional pairings over a contiguouspower grid network, according to an example embodiment

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention relate broadly to a system andmethod of determining and certifying a relative amount of energygenerated from one or more power generator allocated to an energyconsumption load such that the consumer load may forecast penetration ofthe energy resource to the load, establish a metering pairing forcertification of the established penetration of the energy resource, andan audit may access and process information to verify the penetration ofenergy to the load. This penetration may be performed on the basis oftime analysis of generation and consumption events as connected on apower grid transmission network. Such a generation source may implementan intermittent energy source, or a combination of dispatchable andintermittent energy resources, where typically renewable energyresources may be stochastic in nature and characterized as intermittent.Moreover, energy storage devices may be connected to the power gridnetwork through the energy grid, or connected indirectly through loadsof the power grid network, and advantageously meters such that the twoway flow of energy from the storage device (such as a chemical batterystorage device) may be used to provide energy on the power grid network.Publication of certificates are enabled to provide for a transactionalcertificate among meter pairings. The system is configured forpublishing associated and derivative information such that certaininformation may be rendered confidential while other information may bemade public for the purpose of simplifying an audit system of energyconsumption and generation over a contiguous power grid network. Thesystem is enabled such that the real time flows of information areconsistently measured, and computed through a properly configuredfilter, such that the resulting real time information available providesup to date and relevant information in regard the energy transactions inreal time. It is noted that in different embodiments, the computing orprocessing may be performed at selected times or at selected timeintervals instead of in real time.

The present specification also discloses apparatus for implementing orperforming the operations of the methods. Such apparatus may bespecially constructed for the required purposes, or may comprise adevice selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer programstored in the device. Furthermore, one or more of the steps of thecomputer program may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially.Such a computer program may be stored on any computer readable medium.The computer readable medium may include storage devices such asmagnetic or optical disks, memory chips, or other storage devicessuitable for interfacing with a device. The computer readable medium mayalso include a hard-wired medium such as exemplified in the Internetsystem, or wireless medium such as exemplified in the GSM mobiletelephone system. The computer program when loaded and executed on thedevice effectively results in an apparatus that implements the steps ofthe method.

The invention may also be implemented as hardware modules. Moreparticular, in the hardware sense, a module is a functional hardwareunit designed for use with other components or modules. For example, amodule may be implemented using discrete electronic components, or itcan form a portion of an entire electronic circuit such as anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Numerous otherpossibilities exist. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that thesystem can also be implemented as a combination of hardware and softwaremodules.

Embodiments of the present invention for implementation of an advancedcertification system involve a consideration of the kind of informationaccessible or made open in an audit or publication. The simplepublication of all information openly may not be preferred as theconsumer or generator may be interested in maintaining confidentialityof some of the information associated with their consumption orgeneration. Some of the information may as well be less relevant inrespect of certifying a renewable attribute on the consumer, or a timerelated characteristic of generation and consumption events. Publicationof a subset or derivative set of information can serve the purpose of anaudit as well as maintain confidentiality of certain information whichis not required to be published. An element of information“destruction”, such as hashing functions, and elements of randomness arepreferably introduced into certification processes in exampleembodiments, at least somewhere between the raw information obtainedabout energy generation or consumption and the publication of thederivative information.

To remedy the lack of transparency and trade in some markets in theprior art, an open information standard may be implemented in exampleembodiments to construe the physical transactions. In exampleembodiments, smart metering units may be used and their specificationspresented publicly along with information associated with allocationpairs between generation source and consumption load of electricalenergy. Such an open information standard can be able to simplify thecertification requirements and create a physical measurement standardthat allows more participants to verify the origins of energy generatedand supplied through a power grid network.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method forauditing the allocation of energy among energy generators (for exampleintermittent energy generators) and consumption loads such that aspecified level of penetration or a specified percentage blend of energyfrom the energy source to the load can be determined. By opening theinformation obtained through the open information standard any party mayobtain and access allocations, which can improve on the transparency ofinformation presented to them, while any other party may cross checkpaired allocations and historical as well as future information amongenergy allocations so as to verify the origin and guarantee of suchenergy. This preferably also serves in addition to certify the timecorrelations of events of energy generation and energy consumption amongvarious electrical components configured among a contiguous electricalpower grid transmission system.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing illustrating an architecture of energymeters of generators and consumers associated with an informationtechnology system comprising user settings, and a database that ispopulated and processed in real time leading to publication ofinformation derived from the readings, according to an exampleembodiment. Measurements of real time energy flows are provided forthrough a plurality of energy meters 111 and 121, and fed in real timeto a database 100. Energy meters 111, for example meter unit 112, areenabled for providing generating data to database 100 while energymeters 121, for example meter unit 122, and are enabled for providingload data to a database 100. The information is encrypted prior to beingsent to the database through communication links 180 and 181(respectively, for the set of generation meters 111 and the set of loadmeters 121), and is maintained within the database in a secure form. Thecommunication between the meters 111, 121 and the database 100 can becompressed with Lempel-Ziv-Oberhumer (LZO) and encrypted via a VPNtunnel (Virtual Private Network is abbreviated as VPN) in an exampleembodiment and can use a variety of VPN software and encryption cyphers,for example using OpenVPN for the tunnel and encrypted using Blowfish inCipher Block Chaining mode (BF-CBC) cypher. The only access to thedatabase 100 is internally on the server or with a VPN connection to theserver 190. The Web interface of the server 190 which exposes data fromthe database 100 will be using filters as described herein andadvantageously will not reveal another user's raw clean energyconsumption data unless the user agrees to release that information. Thefilter algorithms may be made publically available or to the auditors.

In FIG. 1, a set of generation meters 111 are individually communicatingthrough a secure VPN channel 180 into database 100, and individualgeneration meters e.g. 112 are installed within each distributedgenerator to record energy generation information remotely. M(t)idenotes data from individual generation meters e.g. 112 as read in realtime providing relevant time series information, and M(t)j denotes datafrom individual consumption meters e.g. 122 as read in real timeproviding relevant time series information. It can be noted that newtime series data may be derived from the original time series dataM(t)i,j obtained from the meters e.g. 112, 122.

The generators may be embedded energy generators within a building, forexample photovoltaic generators, and the metering scheme may beestablished under a variety of meter reading consolidation systems, forexample, as described in WO 2016/032396, WO 2016/064342 and/or WO2016/064341. I.e. the metering scheme could be directly or indirectlymeasuring generation data supplied to an electrical power grid. Inaddition, a set of electrical load meters 121 are individuallycommunicating through a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) channel 181into database 100. Advantageously, generators could include otherdispatchable generators, or potential battery storage or other forms ofenergy storage. There is no limitation to the kind of generator or powersupply device/system that can be used to provide energy through thepower grid network.

Pairings among the meter readings are established with time indexingsuch that cross correlations on energy generation or consumption atloads may be made. In FIG. 1, information from the database 100 isprocessed using apparatus 101 which may comprise of a central processingunit that is performing the allocation algorithm which is pairinggeneration to consumption as shown in FIG. 3. Publication 102 from thedatabase 100 and as processed through element 101 (which is referredherein as a filter in addition to a processing system) may result inVoluntary Publication 104 (also referred to as “Self-Publication”), orUnitary Audit 103, as referred to within this document. Unitary Audit103 is a resulting certification among meter pairings, or as derivedfrom the generation meters, such that established allocations amongelectrical meters can be determined to be distinct and not overlapping.I.e. Electricity generated and allocated to loads was proportionallysupplied only once and not allocated more than once or more than once.Voluntary Publication 104 is published such that additional userinformation is made accessible for presentation by configuration ofexternal or internal users 113 and 123 and associated with generationand consumption, respectively. Communication of user settings forgeneration associated users 113 or electrical load associated users 123,respectively, may be done, for example, by login of the user through theWorld Wide Web (WWW) using communication channels 182 and 183,respectively. Preferably, a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol securesthe point to point communications 182 and 183 between the respectiveusers and the server. An auditor may then receive the algorithm asutilized at the processor along with the resultant output of publicationso as to certify certain characteristics of the energy generation,allocations, or transactions as occurring among energy meters withoutnecessarily needing to obtain the actual meter readings, which mayinclude confidential information.

Label 124 is an example of an electrical load user, and label 114 is anexample of a generation user. The database 100 is established with anumber of settings which users can select, and can obtain informationfrom the users. Such information becomes associated with the appropriategeneration meter 111 or electrical load meter 121 through the database100. For example, an electrical load user can specify to share or notshare his physical address, company name, logo, clean energy ratio,clean energy consumption, and overall consumption. In addition,associated data of a consumer load may include any and all technicalspecifications of the load such as its electrical capacity, designdocumentation, and other associated information. A generation user canspecify to share or not share his physical address, distance between thegenerator and consumer, company name, and logo. In addition, associateddata of a generator may include any and all technical specifications ofthe generator such as its name plate capacity which may be defined fromeither the direct current capacity or the alternating current capacity,the make, design documentation, and other associated information. Animplementation for providing user options which can be configured willbe described below with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a system of pairinggeneration 211 and consumption 221 readings for establishing apre-allocated pairing 202, according to an example embodiment. In FIG.2, percentages of the generation on each generator can be pre-allocatedor reserved for the consumption of specific electrical load users. Withthis architecture, a fraction of a specific meter reading can beallocated into a cross pairing of meter readings. Pre-allocated pairingsare determined prior to generating the energy and are applied duringenergy production. The consumption at a load of an electrical user willbe measured at the meter 221 and stored in the database 200. Thegeneration will be measured at the meter 211 and stored in the database200. Each meter is coupled with its associated data 212 and 222 which isstored in the database 200. The associated data 212, 222 for both thegeneration and consumption contains an identification which identifiesthe meter with a generator identification (ID) and consumer IDrespectively in an example embodiment. A pre-allocated pairinginformation 213 in one embodiment contains a generator ID 210, anallocation percentage 230 and a consumer ID 220. All energy generatedwithin a time interval from a generator with generator ID 210 that havea pre-allocated pairings entry 213, will go through correlationequations 240 and store the reserved output 202 (“Pre-AllocationPairings”), i.e. the resulting allocation time series based oncorrelation equation 240 in an example embodiment, in the database 200.It is noted that correlation equation 240 can take various formsdepending, inter alia, on the type of supply product or user desiredconstraints 299 a particular user has subscribed to, including that onlya fraction of a measured consumption time series may be considered forthe allocation. Examples of different types of supply products or userconstraints are described, for example, in WO 2016/064342 and/or WO2016/064341.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a procedure, process, ormethod, for implementation on apparatus, from which meter allocationpairings are established to be stored for a database (compare 100 inFIG. 1, 200 in FIG. 2), according to an example embodiment. A generationlist 310, a consumption list 320, and pre-allocated pairings 380 aregathered from the database (for example from database 200, FIG. 2, ordatabase 100, FIG. 1). In the consumption correlation 313 process,consumption from consumption list 320 is correlated with thepre-allocated pairings 380 and the unallocated generation obtained from“Determine Unallocated Generation” segment 311 is identified byaggregating the total generation and removing allocated energy accordingto the pre-allocated pairings 380 which will be limited to therespective consumer's maximum consumption during each time interval.This unallocated generation “pool” is then distributed amongst all usersin an example embodiment, using an algorithm which favors prioritycustomers and thus creating new or additional allocation pairings 312.The energy sum of the allocation pairs 380 and 312, aggregated asallocation pairings 390, will thus be equal to the aggregate of allgeneration. The pre-allocated pairings 380 are either generated frombeing an initial consumer 321 or revised to meet new needs or adjustedto weather changes such as seasonal for intermittent sources, oradjusted to control changes for dispatchable sources, as indicated atnumeral 323. Calculations can use a probability density calculator 322based on, for example, historical data for generation and/or consumptionto attempt to predict the generation needed to meet the consumer's needsand build and/or revise the pre-allocated pairings 380. Details of asuitable probability density calculator are described, for example, inWO 2016/064341. Advantageously, such a system of allocation allowspriorities of access to multiple energy generation resources to beprovided for, and various mixes of energy sources to be subscribed tofor supply to consumer loads prior to the supply dates by using apredictive forecasting module.

The database structure (compare database 100, FIG. 1, or database 200,FIG. 2) according to an example embodiment is specified in FIG. 4. Datafrom multiple generation and consumption database tables (411, 412, 421,422) are processed using an algorithm 401 (compare FIG. 3 acorresponding description above) and the resulting allocation data 430is stored in the database. Associated generator user data 417 that isassociated with a generator is stored in the generator data 412 tableand assigned a unique generator ID 416. Generation data 411 containsdata that is unique to a date 415 and the generator ID 416 along withthe corresponding generation time series 414 for that date, in anexample embodiment. Associated consumer user data 427 that is associatedwith a consumer is stored in the consumer data 422 table and assigned aunique consumer ID 426. Consumption data 421 contains data that isunique to a date 425 and the consumer ID 426 along with thecorresponding consumption time series 424 corresponding to said date425, in an example embodiment. Correspondingly, the algorithm may callconsumption data 421 with associated consumer ID 426 and consumptiontime series 424, as well as consumer data 422 with correspondingconsumer ID 426 and associated user data 427. The tables 411, 412, 421,422 are structured in an example embodiment to minimize the informationspace used, such that records that are reoccurring only contain thenecessary data and the consumer ID 426 and generator ID 416 are theidentifiers used to link the data to a specific entity. The resultingallocation data 430 includes allocation data according to thepre-allocation paring for the user and optionally allocation dataderived from additional allocation from the unallocated generation“pool” (compare FIG. 3 and corresponding description above). Whileconsumer ID 431 is shown to be associated with the allocation data 430as represented in FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that the databasestructure is such that the allocation data 430 for each user can bedecomposed into allocation(s) 432 and respective date 433 from theindividual generators as identified within the database structure by wayof their generator IDs 416. This can enable self-publication of specificdata derived from user settings, as will be described below in moredetail.

Allocation pairings among generation meters and electrical load metersmay come through a variety of modes, as presented in FIG. 5. Individualmeters as generation 511 are represented by solid grey circles, whileindividual meters as electrical loads 521 are represented by hashedcircles. FIG. 5(a) illustrates an allocation pairing wherein onegeneration facility meter 511 is paired with multiple differentelectrical load consumer meters 502, 503, 504. Accordingly, a generationtime series of the generation facility meter 511 is paired withelectrical load consumer meters 502, 503, and 504 such that proportionalallocation time series for the consumer load can be defined. FIG. 5(b)illustrates allocation pairings wherein one generation facility metere.g. 510 is paired with one electrical load consumer meter e.g. 513.FIG. 5(c) illustrates an allocation pairing wherein multiple generationfacility meters 520, 521, 523 are paired with one electrical loadconsumer meter 524. From such meter pairings, unique Anonymous PairingID's are created such that certificates may be established on the realtime information flows derived from electrical generation andconsumption as on the electrical mains power grid network.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic drawing illustrating the real time flow ofinformation both from generation meters and consumer meters as well asassociated anonymous identifications of associated meters, wherein theinformation from said meters flows through a filtering system preparedby information obtained from user inputs and is ultimately published ina processed state, according to an example embodiment. Electrical flowsas recorded become associated with a system of anonymous identificationsprovided such that information of the database may be made secure whilepublication from the database occurs. The database is structured toindex energy flow data 601 with respect to time, and as such,cross-correlation information among energy meters at the generators withGenerator IDs 611 and electrical loads with Consumer IDs 621 may becomputed and in real time, based on allocation pairings. Anonymousidentifications may be created using e.g. a random number system tocreate a unique identification that can mask any information that iscorrelated to the Generator IDs 611 or Consumer IDs 621. Advantageouslywithin the secure server, the database can safely maintain an indexwhich matches Generator IDs 611 to their Anonymous Generator IDscounterparts 612, and the database can safely maintain an index whichmatches Consumer IDs 621 to their Anonymous Consumer IDs counterparts622. For added flexibility, the anonymous IDs can also be generatedindependently for each audit event and disposed of time to time, whichallows for the anonymous IDs to be disposed of after an independentaudit event has been published. The information associated with theallocation pairings is filtered at processing steps 603 and or 604 whichhave been configured to establish various forms of publication inexample embodiments, here for self-publication and Unitary Auditpublication respectively.

In FIG. 7, a representation of user options 712 for generationassociated data and user options 711 for consumer load associated dataare shown for configuring a filter 710, according to an exampleembodiment. The filter 710 is a processor which derives self-publicationdata from the database readings (compare numeral 603 described abovewith reference to FIG. 6). User options 712 show how the filter 710 isconfigured such that a binary value such as the “on” position at 704associates with an option such as the “Show ID” option 703. Accordingly,various options can be provided to a user such that they can configuretheir account and provide tailored presentations of audit information.It is noted that in the event that all of the values are set to “off”,the “Unitary Audit” is still published (compare numeral 604) in exampleembodiments to advantageously meet certification requirements, as willbe described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 8. In theUnitary Audit publication, the majority of information is madeconfidential and/or is hashed. The filter 710 may be configured, in anexample embodiment, also by utilizing only user options 712 forgeneration associated data or only user options 711 for consumer loadassociated data, as the case may be. In such a setting, only one of thedesired associated data sets and self-publication procedures may beprovided, and the filter is configured such that it may provide theself-publication without obtaining/revealing information from arespective other portion of a meter pairing, as the case may be. As anadditional provision, the system may also incorporate other user optionsin respect of various publication audiences. For example, instead ofassuming the user opts-in to provide data to the public at large, theuser may be provided with options of publishing data to only the usersin association with a particular meter pairing, or only to a selectedaudience such as those individuals within their city/their identifiedproximity of a contiguous power grid network, or users who have signedon to access a particular private sharing community online.

Accordingly, users can advantageously provide inputs to e.g. a user login account that identifies which information a particular user can makepublic. For example, the user may choose whether or not to disclosetheir address, their generation data, their consumption data, theirtotal energy usage, their couplings or other material factors inassociating with the certification of the energy transaction.Importantly, the users together can express their settings in respect oftheir mutual energy transaction certification. A rooftop solar accountwould tailor their account to present, say, their businessidentification and the logo of their business, while the electrical loaduser of the associate meter coupling may tailor their account topresent, say, their business identification and the logo of theirbusiness. As such, a transactional certification may correctly identifythe user identities by their registered names and can present the imageof the businesses logos as being a part of each end of an energytransaction (as generation and consumption). Additional information canbe provided by the users if they wish.

On the other hand, even if one, more or all users wish to remainunidentified, the Unitary Audit will still be published in such a waythat all users remain anonymous while the total set of generation asread through energy meters, or as read through allocations inrepresentation of transactional certificates, on a whole can still beaudited such that no “double selling” of energy credits/allocation isprovided.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic drawing illustrating a system for auditingwherein associated information settings are established as a standardand a standard procedure of randomizing and optionally hashinggeneration meter and load meter information, or of their pairings,results in the publication of publication data in the form of a UnitaryAudit or certificate, according to an example embodiment. This UnitaryAudit is configured to establish a very basic characteristic over allassociated meter pairings, without revealing additional associatedinformation of the various elements of a transactional certification.Meter readings 801 with their allocation information 802 are drawn fromdatabase 803, and an anonymous ID (refer to FIG. 6 and correspondingdescription above) is generated for each generator or consumer meter 801at a process 804 configured to hide the identity of the user. Theseanonymous ID tags in an example embodiment are generated such that nocorrelation from the new ID can be made to the generation or consumer IDof the meter and their associated information which is to be protectedand secured, at the discretion of the user(s). In such a Unitary Audit810, each and every meter pairing allocation (as associated with thevarious modes from which meter pairings may be made, for example asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 5) is audited and published in aunitary form and with anonymous identifications. The Unitary Audit 810can be generated using various additional randomization and hashingalgorithms, example embodiments of which are described below withreference to FIGS. 10 and 11. It is noted that the Unitary Audit 810 maytake different forms, for example expressed in FIG. 8 as “scalar form”for audits in which one or more “aggregate” indications may berepresented, such as a binary “Yes” or “No” in relation to generatedenergy being equal to or more than allocated/consumed energy, or as“vector form” for audits in which indications of (anonymous)transactional information are presented. In utilizing such a system, thealgorithm utilized for optionally hashing and randomizing information isprovided to the auditor such that the result of the vector or scalarUnitary Audit may be interpreted to be accurate in respect of the statedalgorithm used deriving the Unitary Audit, while the raw data isprotected from being publically revealed.

As shown in FIG. 9, in an example embodiment, in addition to the UnitaryAudit publication (compare numerals 904 and 912, which correspond tonumerals 804 and 810 described above with reference to FIG. 8),publication of publication data can be provided in a self-publicationmode 910. Meter readings 901 with their allocation information 902 aredrawn from database 903, and a filter is applied 905 for individualusers. The filter is user configured 906 based on user selection 907,for example binary selection as described above with reference to FIG.7, resulting in self-publication of user specific information in theself-publication mode 910, here in a vector form in an exampleembodiment. For example, where both users involved in an allocationpairing have agreed to self-publish information, a specifictransactional allocation or certificate can be self-published, comparenumeral 914. On the other hand, if only one of the users of anallocation pairing has agreed to self-publish information, for example aconsumer end transactional allocation or certificate can be published inwhich the generator identity of e.g. a solar rooftop generator ishidden, compare 916. In utilizing such a system, the algorithm utilizedfor optionally hashing and randomizing information is provided to theauditor such that the result of the self-published information may beinterpreted to be accurate in respect of the stated algorithm used toderive the self-publication, while the raw data is protected from beingpublically revealed.

The provisions enabled to adapt for various self-publication audit formsallow for a rich variety of information to be publically presented. FIG.12 shows an example of a self-publication form wherein users at bothgenerator (“G”) and consumer (“C”) sides of a transaction have opted toallow for the latitude and longitude positions of their locations to bepublically available. In this case, the real time nominal measurementsof data read at the energy generation and energy consumption meters isprivate as the users have not opted to publish this information. In thisscenario, an overlay onto a map can be provide by way of theself-publication mode in one embodiment, illustrating the respectiveends of the transaction by the locations of the meter pairings. A map1201 which may be rightfully obtained, for example Google maps (seehttps://maps.google.com) or Google Earth (see https://earth.google.com)maps which are offered for free to the public, may be utilized to obtaina corresponding image from which to compare latitude and longitude dataof a meter pairing. In FIG. 12, an image overlay which is composed ofconnections representing meter pairings accurately reproduces latitudeand longitude data of a consumer 1202 paired to a generator 1203.Similarly, a generator 1204 is accurately reproduced as paired to threeconsumers 1205, 1206 and 1207 where the latitude and longitude of thegenerators and consumers are used to represent the visual information asa self-publication procedure. Advantageously, a software systemaccessing the server and the database is configured to prepare a visuallayer which may be provided to be presented on a screen incorporatingthe freely accessible map as well, such that latitude and longitude ofthe consumer/generator associations and the map are illustrated in asingle visual image which may be displayed on a computer monitor.

In FIG. 10, an example of a process providing an additional means tohide the identity of a consumer receiving clean energy is illustrated.As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, replacing thenames of users (i.e. generators, consumers) with e.g. a random anonymousidentifier as described for the Unitary Audit capability in an exampleembodiment above may still be vulnerable to indirect determination of auser's identity. For example, if an anonymous consumer receives a largeload as represented in a Unitary Audit in vector form, e.g. indicatinganonymous transactional pairing energy information and thus stands outfrom the other consumers, one could make the assumption which user thatcould be based on public observations from other correlating factors. Inthis situation, in an example embodiment the allocation is split intomultiple allocations which resemble other allocations, which would hideit in the noise. In one such embodiment, all of the consumers'allocations are sorted by peak values and placed in the ‘greater than orequal to 50th percentile’ (GTEP) 1001 or ‘lower than 50th percentile’(LTLP) 1002 lists. The largest peak value in the LTLP 1002 list may bestored as a mid-peak value 1004. Only allocations in the GTEP 1001 maybe split into smaller allocations by replicating existing smallerallocations and subtracting those time series from the time series thatis to be hidden. The process will continue while the remaining timeseries has a peak greater than the mid peak value 1004. All of theallocation curves, including the ones which add up to the initialallocation curve(s) that have been hidden are gathered and randomizedand their identity replaced with a random ID, indicated at numeral 1007.The result can then be shown to the public 1008. The system may furtherbe configured such that, if the information is accessed via a log in bya current user, those allocations that can be aggregated to equal thecurrent user's allocation 1009 are specified.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, a Paillier Cryptosystem is used in anotherexample embodiment to hide the allocations from the public and onlyallow the public to decrypt the sum of the allocations for eachgenerator without being able to see each allocation. Each time componentof each consumer allocation e.g. 1101 time series is encrypted usingeach consumer's private key, indicated at numeral 1102. Thecorresponding components for a particular time/period can be summedwhile remaining encrypted, indicated e.g. at numeral 1103, and can bedecrypted using a public key, indicated at numeral 1104. The system hasa unique private key for each user, and preferably, a newly generatedprivate key is utilised each time an audit is performed. On the otherhand, the time components of each generator data e.g. 1105 time series,which are released to the public, can be summed and the sum of thegeneration data 1106 can be audited to be equal or greater than thedecrypted sum of consumer allocations 1104 for each particular timeperiod.

From the description of the example embodiments above, it can berecognized that varieties of information processes tailored andconfigured from a filter or processing apparatus. In addition to systemdefined filtering for Unitary Audit publication, filtering forself-publication utilizing, for example, the binary results of the userselected options as illustrated in FIG. 7 may be used. Filtering forUnitary Audit publication can be generally determined from therandomization systems on the ID's of generation and consumption meters,for example as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, preferablywith additional hashing systems that are aimed at reducing vulnerabilityof information that is to be inaccessible from public publication, ofbeing discovered/derived from the published information.

Forms of publication illustrating a system defined basic or unitaryaudit which advantageously maintains confidentiality of variousinformation and associated information has been described, by way ofexample, with reference to FIG. 8, while a tailored self-publicationmode that allows for user selected information publications has beendescribed, by way of example, with reference to FIG. 9. Preferably,providing relevant certification authorities with the details of theprocessing algorithm for the system defined audit can “prove” theconfidentiality and accuracy of the facilitated audit, thus providingconfidence in implementing a certification platform according to exampleembodiments.

The Unitary Audit in example embodiments consists of verifying that thesum of all of the energy generated is equal or greater than the sum ofenergy allocated for each customer. This statement confirms that therewas not more energy allocated than was produced. The statement canadvantageously be verified/certified for each time interval which may beset by the energy market as the settlement interval or by the systemitself.

There are two types of information that typically need to be released tothe public to provide an audit of the allocation of energy in exampleembodiments:

a) The output of energy from each generation unit

b) The total energy allocated for all users

The output of energy generated can typically be released publicly,whereas each customer might decide not to release their clean energyconsumption. For example, releasing each user's allocated energy couldlead to knowing how much energy a customer is consuming at its peak.Hiding the customer names from each allocation in the publishedinformation would, for example, still lead to noticeable high allocationloads that could be correlated to customers that are known to havehigher consumption loads. Measures such as those described by way ofexample, with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 can preferably be used tohide noticeable allocations while providing transparency in showing thetotal energy generated and in showing that no “double selling” ofgenerated energy from intermittent or “green” sources took place. It isnoted, however, that the present invention is not limited to publishingof information related to intermittent or “green” sources, but can beapplied broadly to any form and mixture of generation technologies to,for example, audit the mixture of energy from different sources acrossthe power grid as a whole, or transactional pairings of generators andconsumer loads.

While advantageously providing a transparent system for certification,the described embodiments further advantageously provide users withoptions to control whether or not to disclose certain information to thepublic, for example as described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart 1300 illustrating a method of facilitatingauditing of power generation and allocation thereof to consumptionloads, according to an example embodiment. At step 1302, respectivepower generation time series for one or more power sources connected toa power grid are measured. At step 1304, the generation time series ispaired with one or more consumption loads connected to the power gridsuch that one generation time series is paired with one or moreconsumption loads and vice versa. At step 1306, publication datarepresenting power generated by the power sources according to themeasured power generation time series and an allocation of the generatedpower to the consumption loads is published.

The method may further comprise generating respective power allocationtime series for the one or more consumption loads based on the measuredpower generation time series.

The method may further comprise measuring respective power consumptiontime series for the one or more consumption loads. The allocation of thegenerated power to the consumption loads may be based on the measuredpower consumption time series.

The method may further comprise generating the publication data.Generating the publication data may comprise applying a filter to atleast data representing the allocation of the generated power to theconsumption loads. The filter may comprise a pre-set filter element anda user-definable filter element. The pre-set filter element may beconfigured to generate the publication data in the form of unitary auditdata. The user-definable filter element may be configured to generatethe publication data in the form of self-publication data. The pre-setfilter element may be configured to apply a randomization processing tohide identities of respective users associated with the power sourcesand the consumption loads. The pre-set filter element may be configuredto apply a hashing processing to at least the data representingallocation of the generated power to the consumption loads. The hashingprocessing may comprise dividing an allocation time series associatedwith a consumption load into a plurality of publication time series suchthat the sum of the plurality of publication time series equals theallocation time series, and wherein the publication data includes datarepresenting the respective publication time series. The hashingprocessing may comprise decomposing an allocation time series associatedwith a consumption load into its time components, encrypting each timecomponent using a private key associated with the consumption load, andwherein the publication data includes a sum of corresponding encryptedtime elements from respective allocation time series.

The pairing of the generation time series with the one or moreconsumption loads may comprise applying and/or modifying pre-setpairings. The pairing of the generation time series with the one or moreconsumption loads may comprise determining an unallocated portion of thepower generated by the power sources based on the pre-set pairings, andgenerating additional pairings based on the unallocated portion.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart 1400 illustrating a method of certifyinggeneration and consumption transactional pairings over a contiguouspower grid network, according to an example embodiment. At step 1402,time series data from a plurality of generation meters and consumptionmeters into a database in real time is measured. At step 1404, themeasured time series data is processed through an algorithm to derive aresult in association with a set of meter pairings between thegeneration meters and the consumption meters. At step 1406. the derivedresult is published in real time, at selected times or at selected timeintervals.

The method may further comprise publishing the algorithm to the public.

The algorithm may be configured by obtaining user settings from usersassociated with the generation meters and the consumption meters.

In one embodiment, a system for facilitating auditing of powergeneration and allocation thereof to consumption loads is provided,comprising one or more meters for measuring respective power generationtime series for one or more power sources connected to a power grid; aprocessor for pairing the generation time series with one or moreconsumption loads connected to the power grid such that one generationtime series is paired with one or more consumption loads and vice versa;and a publication platform for publishing publication data representingpower generated by the power sources according to the measured powergeneration time series and an allocation of the generated power to theconsumption loads.

The system may further comprise the processor generating respectivepower allocation time series for the one or more consumption loads basedon the measured power generation time series.

The system may further comprise one or more meters for measuringrespective power consumption time series for the one or more consumptionloads. The allocation of the generated power to the consumption loadsmay be based on the measured power consumption time series.

The processor may further be configured for generating the publicationdata. Generating the publication data may comprise applying a filter toat least data representing the allocation of the generated power to theconsumption loads. The filter may comprise a pre-set filter element anda user-definable filter element. The pre-set filter element may beconfigured to generate the publication data in the form of unitary auditdata. The user-definable filter element may be configured to generatethe publication data in the form of self-publication data. The pre-setfilter element may be configured to apply a randomization processing tohide identities of respective users associated with the power sourcesand the consumption loads. The pre-set filter element may be configuredto apply a hashing processing to at least the data representingallocation of the generated power to the consumption loads. The hashingprocessing may comprise dividing an allocation time series associatedwith a consumption load into a plurality of publication time series suchthat the sum of the plurality of publication time series equals theallocation time series, and wherein the publication data includes datarepresenting the respective publication time series. The hashingprocessing may comprise decomposing an allocation time series associatedwith a consumption load into its time components, encrypting each timecomponent using a private key associated with the consumption load, andwherein the publication data includes a sum of corresponding encryptedtime elements from respective allocation time series.

The pairing of the generation time series with the one or moreconsumption loads may comprise applying and/or modifying pre-setpairings. The pairing of the generation time series with the one or moreconsumption loads may comprise determining an unallocated portion of thepower generated by the power sources based on the pre-set pairings, andgenerating additional pairings based on the unallocated portion.

In one embodiment, a system for certifying generation and consumptiontransactional pairings over a contiguous power grid network is provided,comprising a database; a plurality of generation meters and consumptionmeters configured for measuring time series data into the database inreal time; a processor for processing the measured time series datathrough an algorithm to derive a result in association with a set ofmeter pairings between the generation meters and the consumption meters;and a publishing platform for publishing the derived result in realtime, at selected times or at selected time intervals.

The system may further comprise a publishing platform for publishing thealgorithm to the public.

The algorithm may be configured by obtaining user settings from usersassociated with the generation meters and the consumption meters.

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the present invention asshown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodimentsare, therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative andnot restrictive. Also, the invention includes any combination offeatures, in particular any combination of features in the patentclaims, even if the feature or combination of features is not explicitlyspecified in the patent claims or the present embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of facilitating auditing of powergeneration and allocation thereof to consumption loads, comprising:measuring respective power generation time series for one or more powersources connected to a power grid; pairing the generation time serieswith one or more consumption loads connected to the power grid such thatone generation time series is paired with one or more consumption loadsand vice versa; and publishing publication data representing powergenerated by the power sources according to the measured powergeneration time series and an allocation of the generated power to theconsumption loads.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisinggenerating respective power allocation time series for the one or moreconsumption loads based on the measured power generation time series. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising measuring respective powerconsumption time series for the one or more consumption loads.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the allocation of the generated power to theconsumption loads is based on the measured power consumption timeseries.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating thepublication data.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein generating thepublication data comprises applying a filter to at least datarepresenting the allocation of the generated power to the consumptionloads.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the filter comprises a pre-setfilter element and a user-definable filter element.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the pre-set filter element is configured to generatethe publication data in the form of unitary audit data.
 9. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the user-definable filter element is configured togenerate the publication data in the form of self-publication data. 10.The method of claim 7, wherein the pre-set filter element is configuredto apply a randomization processing to hide identities of respectiveusers associated with the power sources and the consumption loads. 11.The method of claim 7, wherein the pre-set filter element is configuredto apply a hashing processing to at least the data representingallocation of the generated power to the consumption loads.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the hashing processing comprises dividing anallocation time series associated with a consumption load into aplurality of publication time series such that the sum of the pluralityof publication time series equals the allocation time series, andwherein the publication data includes data representing the respectivepublication time series.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the hashingprocessing comprises decomposing an allocation time series associatedwith a consumption load into its time components, encrypting each timecomponent using a private key associated with the consumption load, andwherein the publication data includes a sum of corresponding encryptedtime elements from respective allocation time series.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the pairing of the generation time series with the oneor more consumption loads comprises applying and/or modifying pre-setpairings.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the pairing of thegeneration time series with the one or more consumption loads comprisesdetermining an unallocated portion of the power generated by the powersources based on the pre-set pairings, and generating additionalpairings based on the unallocated portion.
 16. A method of certifyinggeneration and consumption transactional pairings over a contiguouspower grid network, comprising: measuring time series data from aplurality of generation meters and consumption meters into a database inreal time; processing the measured time series data through an algorithmto derive a result in association with a set of meter pairings betweenthe generation meters and the consumption meters; and publishing thederived result in real time, at selected times or at selected timeintervals.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising publishing thealgorithm to the public.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein thealgorithm is configured by obtaining user settings from users associatedwith the generation meters and the consumption meters.
 19. A system forfacilitating auditing of power generation and allocation thereof toconsumption loads, comprising: one or more meters for measuringrespective power generation time series for one or more power sourcesconnected to a power grid; a processor for pairing the generation timeseries with one or more consumption loads connected to the power gridsuch that one generation time series is paired with one or moreconsumption loads and vice versa; and a publication platform forpublishing publication data representing power generated by the powersources according to the measured power generation time series and anallocation of the generated power to the consumption loads.
 20. Thesystem of claim 19, further comprising the processor generatingrespective power allocation time series for the one or more consumptionloads based on the measured power generation time series.
 21. The systemof claim 19, further comprising one or more meters for measuringrespective power consumption time series for the one or more consumptionloads.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the allocation of thegenerated power to the consumption loads is based on the measured powerconsumption time series.
 23. The system of claim 19, wherein theprocessor is further configured for generating the publication data. 24.The system of claim 23, wherein generating the publication datacomprises applying a filter to at least data representing the allocationof the generated power to the consumption loads.
 25. The system of claim24, wherein the filter comprises a pre-set filter element and auser-definable filter element.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein thepre-set filter element is configured to generate the publication data inthe form of unitary audit data.
 27. The system of claim 25, wherein theuser-definable filter element is configured to generate the publicationdata in the form of self-publication data.
 28. The system of claim 25,wherein the pre-set filter element is configured to apply arandomization processing to hide identities of respective usersassociated with the power sources and the consumption loads.
 29. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein the pre-set filter element is configured toapply a hashing processing to at least the data representing allocationof the generated power to the consumption loads.
 30. The system of claim29, wherein the hashing processing comprises dividing an allocation timeseries associated with a consumption load into a plurality ofpublication time series such that the sum of the plurality ofpublication time series equals the allocation time series, and whereinthe publication data includes data representing the respectivepublication time series.
 31. The system of claim 29, wherein the hashingprocessing comprises decomposing an allocation time series associatedwith a consumption load into its time components, encrypting each timecomponent using a private key associated with the consumption load, andwherein the publication data includes a sum of corresponding encryptedtime elements from respective allocation time series.
 32. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the pairing of the generation time series with the oneor more consumption loads comprises applying and/or modifying pre-setpairings.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein the pairing of thegeneration time series with the one or more consumption loads comprisesdetermining an unallocated portion of the power generated by the powersources based on the pre-set pairings, and generating additionalpairings based on the unallocated portion.
 34. A system for certifyinggeneration and consumption transactional pairings over a contiguouspower grid network, comprising: a database; a plurality of generationmeters and consumption meters configured for measuring time series datainto the database in real time; a processor for processing the measuredtime series data through an algorithm to derive a result in associationwith a set of meter pairings between the generation meters and theconsumption meters; and a publishing platform for publishing the derivedresult in real time, at selected times or at selected time intervals.35. The system of claim 34, further comprising a publishing platform forpublishing the algorithm to the public.
 36. The system of claim 34,wherein the algorithm is configured by obtaining user settings fromusers associated with the generation meters and the consumption meters.